Did the First UFO Sighting Occur in 1801?

Credit: telegraph.co.uk

By Wes Annac

Ufologists believe they’ve tracked down the first ever reported UFO sighting, which dates back to the 1800s.

UFOs are a popular phenomenon in our day and age, and some are baffled by their existence while others claim to know specific things about them, such as why they’re here, who inhabit them, and now, the date of the first recorded sighting.

Latest-UFO-Sightings.net explains.

“Ufologists think that the first UFO sighting takes place in the city of Hull in 1801 when a moon-like orb is seen shimmering in the sky.

“According to the eyewitnesses, they saw a super moon with a black bar across it that hovered over the Humber on June 19, 1801, at midnight. A historian author Mike Covell discovered press articles about the orb when digging into old newspapers from 200 years ago.

“In a report found in the Northampton Mercury on July 11, 1801, Saturday, the huge moon seemed to form itself into seven different small globes or moons of fire, which vanished in a few seconds. The reappearance of the giant moon was equally brilliant.

“It appears like the face of the moon, then into five round balls, and lastly like multiple small stars that gradually fade away, resulting [in] the entire atmosphere [being] illuminated brilliantly.” (1)

The sighting was reported by other news outlets.

“The Chester Chronicle also reported the strange activity on Friday, July 17, 1801. A faint of blue light fell upon the surrounding objects, like that of distant torches, according to a report in The Chester Chronicle.

“Covell, who has collected several UFO clippings dating back to the 19th century, says that it’s the oldest sighting they have managed to track down so far.” (2)

Clearly, these sightings have been taking place longer than most people would expect.

I’m surprised that some Ufologists believe the first sightings took place as soon as the 1800s, because these days, we hear about sightings that have taken place all throughout modern and ancient history.

There’s a lot of buzz about UFOs and the pyramids, for example, and if you’re willing to listen to a channeled source, you might be interested in what the collective ‘Ra’ had to say about them when they spoke through channel Carla Rueckert in the 80s.

Not everyone is interested in channeled material, however, and some don’t think it’s a credible tool to gain information about UFOs. Others swear by the Ra material and a select few other channeled sources, and they believe that Ra’s words are the most accurate on the UFO subject (and any other subject).

I couldn’t say for sure whether or not the Ra material is accurate, but I can say that there seem to have been a lot of UFO sightings throughout our ancient history.

Credit: toptenz.net

As an example, here’s a piece of writing, shared by Tara Macslaac at Epoch Times, about a sighting that took place in 65 AD.

“Historian Josephus wrote around 65 A.D. about a fantastical sighting over Judea: ‘On the 21st of the month Artemisium, there appeared a miraculous phenomenon, passing belief.

“‘Indeed, what I am about to relate would, I imagine, have been deemed a fable, were it not for the narratives of eyewitnesses and the subsequent calamities which deserved to be so signalized. For, before sunset throughout all parts of the country, chariots were seen in the air and armed battalions hurtling through the clouds and encompassing the cities.’

“Josephus likely witnessed this event himself … though he bolstered his credibility by appealing to eyewitness accounts. The description does not seem to correspond to any natural phenomena …” (3)

Here’s another piece Tara shared about a sighting that took place in Rome just ten years later.

“Plutarch wrote of a sighting witnessed by thousands. In 74 B.C., the Roman army was moving to engage the forces of King Mithridates VI in the area of modern-day Turkey.

“‘With no apparent change of weather, but all on a sudden, the sky burst asunder, and a huge, flame-like body was seen to fall between the two armies,’ he wrote. ‘In shape, it was most like a wine-jar (pithoi), and in color, like molten silver. Both sides were astonished at the sight, and separated. This marvel, as they say, occurred in Phrygia, at a place called Otryae.’

“Stothers pointed out that freshly fallen meteorites are black, not ‘molten silver’ color, which suggests it was not a meteorite. Plutarch also made no mention of the impact.

“Stothers wrote: ‘The object must have measured much more than a meter across, since it was easily resolved at a distance greater than half the range of a bowshot. If it had remained on the ground, a meteorite of such size would doubtless have become a cult object in Phrygia, with its long tradition of meteorite worship, yet later historical records referring to Phrygian meteorites are silent about it.’

“Nonetheless, there is a chance the UFO was a bolide, a bright meteor that often explodes.” (4)

She also shared an account of a sighting from 196 AD, in which people witnessed the ‘silvery hair’ commonly associated with modern sightings.

“In modern UFO reports, it is common to hear about either glassy fibers or a chalky substance left behind by the UFO, known as angel hair. Ancient reports also include angel hair.

“In 196 A.D., the historian Cassius Dio wrote: ‘A fine rain resembling silver descended from a clear sky upon the Forum of Augustus. I did not, it is true, see it as it was falling, but noticed it after it had fallen, and by means of it I plated some bronze coins with silver; they retained the same appearance for three days, but by the fourth day all the substance rubbed on them had disappeared.’

“Two other ‘rains of chalk’ were reported in Cales 214 B.C. and in Rome 98 B.C.” (5)

As we’ve learned here, there have been plenty of UFO sightings throughout our recent and ancient history and a growing number of people want to know the truth about them.

What are these lights so many people throughout history have seen in the sky? Do they belong to benevolent visitors who could want to help us, or malevolent conquerors who only want to plunder the planet?

I think that any potential visitors would be positive and want to help, but since I don’t know for sure, I’ll leave the question to all of you.

What do you think about UFOs?

Do you think the sightings people receive almost daily are genuine, or could it all be an intricate hoax? Do you think sightings really did start in the 1800s, or do they date back much further?

I’d love to read your opinions in the comments below, and until we know the truth, we can only speculate and discuss these ideas amongst each other.

I’d love to see a UFO land and positive, spiritually evolved star people emerge to help the planet as some people think will happen, but time will tell. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes of the UFO phenomenon, and in the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to question and debate.

About Wes Annac and Openhearted Rebel

I'm a twenty-something writer & blogger with an interest in spirituality, revolution, music and the transformative creative force known as love. I operate Openhearted Rebel, a daily news blog dedicated to igniting a revolution of love by raising social and spiritual awareness.
I write from the heart and try to share informative, enlightening writings with the rest of the conscious community. When I’m not writing or exploring nature, I’m usually making music.
I can be found on Facebook (Wes Annac - facebook.com/wesannac, Culture of Awareness - facebook.com/openheartedrebel), Twitter (twitter.com/Wes_Annac), (twitter.com/openhearted_rebellion), and my personal blog, wesannac.wordpress.com